The shows kids are watching these days definitely aren’t like they used to be. Whether it was a good cartoon, a good teen drama, or musical-style, I learned some important things from the shows we watched as kids. When flipping through what’s on, I sometimes find myself watching reruns of my favourite Family Channel classics. Here are a few shows that I believe really gave us important life lessons.
Boy Meets World
Lesson: Your friends really are your family.
We watched Shawn, Cory, Topanga, Eric and even Minkus grow up, from middle school through high school, and navigate college together. Their relationships grew with every season. Cory and his family were there for Shawn when his family wasn’t. Boy Meets World showed us time and time again that your family isn’t necessarily people you are related to. Family can be found in your classmates, teachers, partners, and friends, and sometimes, that’s all you need.
Even Stevens
Lesson: No matter how unique your family may be, you wouldn’t be the same without them.
The Stevens family was quirky; each member of the family was so different and had something different to offer. Aside from the fact that the Stevens’ taught us that our family dysfunctions were totally normal, each child also gave us something important. Beans taught us to explore and ask questions as we go about the world, Louis taught us to make sure we have fun and don’t take our lives too seriously, and Ren taught us to be dedicated to the things we want in life.
That’s So Raven
Lesson: Do not let anyone dictate who you are.
Raven and her friends stuck together through thick and thin. While they got themselves into some trouble regularly, the show also gave many of us exposure to real issues of social inequality, like when Raven experiences racism while trying to get a job at a retail store. Raven also isn’t afraid to stick up for herself, and she doesn’t let anyone get in the way of her being herself.
Lizzie McGuire
Lesson: You have to take chances.
Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo; three best friends who never let each other down. Lizzie and her friends aren’t afraid to try new things, travel to new places, and always make time for their friends. Further, Lizzie takes a chance in Rome, Gordo takes a chance on Lizzie, and as they manage to get through middle school together, the three best friends are always up for trying something new.
Hannah Montana
Lesson: Nobody’s perfect
“I gotta work it again and again till I get it right.” Hannah sang her way through our childhood, and Miley lived it with us. Oliver, Lilly, Jackson, Rico and Miley showed us how even when things don’t go your way, as long as you stay true to yourself, everything will work out the way it’s meant to. Growing up with the kids of Hannah Montana gave us reassurance that, while you may not get it right the first time, hard work pays off, and you just need to be your best self.
Zoey 101
Lesson: Gender roles ain’t sh*t.
In the very first episode, Zoey and her girl gang take on Logan and his boy gang on the basketball court. Zoey showed up Logan and proved to him that she was just as much of a baller. Girl power was real right from the get go on this show. Throughout Zoey’s experience at Pacific Coast Academy, she always managed to show us that boys and girls alike have strengths and weaknesses but shouldn’t be defined by whether they are a guy, a girl, or anywhere in between.
Life With Derek
Lesson: There perfect family isn’t necessarily the “nuclear” family.
Derek, Casey, Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti struggle to get along on a regular basis, with their re-married parents, and complicated step-sibling relationships. Never do they fail to stick up for one another regardless of their many feuds. The Venturi-McDonald family showed us as kids that your family didn’t need to be perfect; what you do have as your family is very special, and no matter the family construct, it was perfect the way it was.
Good old Disney Channel sure isn’t like it used to be.